Fullmetal Alchemist: The Legacy
by hellbutterfly91
Summary: Ella's father is the former Fullmetal Alchemist Ed Elric. Like her father she's skilled at Alchemy but has little use for it in Resembool at least until the son of a certain Colonel seeks out Ed's help in finding his missing parents. However when Ed is taken it's up to Ella, her brother and their new friend to find the truth, save their parents and live up to the Fullmetal legacy.
1. Resembool

_**Hi! So the other day I came up with this idea for a Fullmetal Alchemist story and I had to write it down. Originally I was going to wait until after I finished the 4 other stories that I'm currently working on to publish but my younger brother bugged me until I published it. And this is it. **_

_**I just want to put a quick disclaimer here before I get started. I have only watched the original FMA in it's entirety. I've watched **__**some**__** of Brotherhood and the parts i've missed I am currently watching on JustDub and Funimation depending on what my computer feels like letting me watch it on. This actually takes place after FMA: Brotherhood instead of the original FMA/ Conqueror of Shamballa because I like the end of Brotherhood better. Any discrepancies you may see in the story I will do my best to fix as I go through the season again and if they're big ones please feel free to let me know. Thank you! **_

_**Oh! And I do not own FMA at all even though I kinda wish I did :D Anyhow...on with the story!**_

* * *

"Will! Get back here! I'm telling Mom if you don't!"

"Not a chance sis!" Will laughed his blond hair flying out behind him.

Ella Elric glared at her brother who was running some feet ahead of her. They were supposed to be collecting firewood but once again her older brother had skipped out leaving her with the work. She didn't know just why she expected him to help out but she had hoped that this time maybe he'd actually do what their mother told them.

With a growl she walked over to the wood pile and grabbed the axe that leaned against the pile of wood and a log before settling them on the chopping block. The axe was heavy but Ella knew she could manage. She'd managed before.

Ella was halfway through splitting her 3rd log when she heard a voice behind her.

"Ella why are you chopping wood? Where's Will?"

Ella sighed as she turned to look at her mother.

"He ran off. Again."

Winry shook her head, "What on earth are we going to do with that boy? He's just like your father! Honestly…is it really that hard to cut some wood?"

"It's okay Mom. I've got it." Ella replied and picked up the axe again.

"No way. I need you to go to the market. We're out of eggs, milk and bread. If you want you can get some fruit. There is money on the table. I will take care of your brother." Winry said and set off in the direction that Will had ran off in. As she did she saw that her mother had a wrench sticking out of her back pocket.

Smiling at the fact her brother was about to get what was coming to him she dusted off her hands and went to get the grocery basket from inside.

When she walked inside she saw her father playing cards with the twins. It looked like he was losing to both Alice and Arthur judging by the few candies he was left to bet with.

"Having fun?" Ella asked looking over her Dad's shoulder.

"Yeah…even if they are cheating." he replied and both of the twins stuck their tongues out at him.

Ella laughed, "Don't worry Daddy. We'll love you even if you do lose to a couple of little kids."

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING LITTLE?!" The twins yelled in sync making Ella smile.

"Well I'm going to the store and Mom is chasing down Will because he skipped out on chopping wood again." she said as she grabbed the basket.

"You just went yesterday. What do we need now?" he asked.

"Mom said bread, eggs and milk." Ella replied.

Ed turned his nose up at the word 'milk', "Don't bother with the milk."

"Just because you don't like it Dad doesn't mean that we don't." she smiled and headed out.

As she walked Ella took pleasure in the scent and scenes of the countryside. Both of her parents had been raised in Resembool and she enjoyed living there. She had been to Central a few times with her parents to visit friends there, a woman named Gracia and her daughter Elicia, and it was an amazing city but there was nothing like home.

After a while she reached the market and found it as busy as ever. Several people waved and said hello as she gathered everything she needed. Ella waved back and smiled as well.

She was pouring over some strawberries she thought looked good when something caught her eye. Standing at the edge of the crowd that filled the market was a man in a blue military uniform. Soldiers didn't often come to Resembool since it was relatively quiet. The ones who came only came to visit her father and she knew all of them. This one was new.

He stood a little taller than her with shaggy black hair and brown eyes. In fact something struck her as familiar about the guy. However the harder she tried to put her finger on it the more it slipped away.

Ella didn't even realize that she was staring until the brown eyes turned on her. Feeling her face heat up she quickly looked back to the strawberries before choosing a package and heading to pay for her groceries. Once they were paid for she headed home.

As she left the market though she felt as if she could still feel those eyes pressing into her back. Shaking it off she concentrated on the way home and eventually the feeling disappeared.

"I'm home!" she called as she walked into the house she shared with her parents, Older and younger brothers and younger sister.

"Did you get everything I asked you to get?" Winry asked as her daughter walked into the kitchen with a full basket.

"Yep." Ella smiled putting the basket onto the table where her mother was cutting potatoes for their supper.

"Good girl." her mother smiled.

"Where's Dad and the others?" Ella asked realizing the house was oddly quiet.

"Your Dad is out taking a walk, the twins are off playing somewhere and Will is moping in the shop." Winry replied.

"Oh okay. You want help with dinner?"

Winry smiled, "No sweetheart, you can go do whatever you like."

"Thanks Mom." Ella smiled and headed back outside towards the shop to find out what her brother was up to.

Both her mother and Will made Automail. They had a small shop that they had set up after the twins were born and they had needed the room for them. Most people in and around Resembool thought that Rockbell Automail was the best, especially when they found out that it was the company that made the Automail leg for the Fullmetal Alchemist.

A smile crossed Ella's lips as she thought about her Dad being a State Alchemist. He was still quite well known, thought he didn't have any alchemic powers to speak of after his last trip through the Gate. However that wasn't well known information and there were still some people who asked him to perform everything from simple to complex alchemy.

If it was simple sometimes he'd defer the person to either herself or Will who both were gifted with a talent for Alchemy. Along with their father, their Uncle Al had taught them everything they knew and both were pretty advanced. Despite being a year younger than her brother, at 16 Ella was actually better than him.

Will was more involved in working with Automail than he was in Alchemy. Neither of the twins had ever shown a real interest in either of the family trades and at 10 it seemed they never would.

Opening the door Ella poked her head in, "Brother? Are you in here?"

"Yeah. I'm here." he replied from somewhere in the back.

Ella walked into the shop and headed into the back where she sure enough found her brother. He was the exact image of their father; golden hued eyes, dark blond hair that was tied into a braid down his back, and a cheesy grin. However right now there was no grin on his face but there was a white bandage on his head.

"How's work?" Ella asked sitting down in a chair next to the table.

"Fine." Will replied shortly.

"Are you really mad at me for earlier?" Ella asked.

"No. Why would I be mad at you for telling Mom and her wrench that I skipped out on wood chopping duty?" Will said scowling at her.

"I didn't tell her! She came out and saw that you weren't there! What did you want me to do? Lie and say that I had no clue? I was chopping the wood you were supposed to be. If anyone is to blame here it's you and you know it." Ella sighed.

"Whatever. Hand me that screwdriver." Will replied and Ella handed him the tool.

"So I saw this guy today at the Market." Ella said after a few moments of silence.

"Really? Huh…imagine that." Will smirked and Ella kicked him under the table.

"He was from Central. How many solders do you see around here that aren't here to visit us?" Ella asked.

Will shrugged, "You know we are still part of Amestris. They're more than welcome to come here whenever."

Ella rolled her eyes, "You're impossible."

"What did the guy look like?" Will asked.

"Why do you want to know?" Ella shot back.

"He must have stood out for more reasons than the fact he was wearing a military uniform or you wouldn't have mentioned him. Right?" Will asked.

Ella sighed and looked at her brother. She hated that he could seemingly read her mind sometimes.

"He had brown eyes and dark hair that was messy. He looked really familiar. I couldn't figure out who he reminded me of though. Sound familiar to you?"

Will shook his head, "Not really."

A moment later a light flashed through the window making both siblings look up.

"Dinner time." Will said and stood, walking out of the shop with Ella following.

When they got inside Alice and Arthur were already setting the table while Edward helped Winry put out dinner.

"Mmm…it smells good Mom." Will smiled as he sat down at the table.

"Thank you sweetheart." Winry replied as they all began to fill their plates.

"Your Mom hit you with her wrench again didn't she?" Ed asked pointing at the bandage around Will's head with his fork.

"It was his fault. I told him to cut wood and he decided that it was time to play instead." Winry replied glaring at her son.

Ed opened his mouth to reply when suddenly there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it." Alice said and jumped up out of the chair and hurried to the front door.

A few moments later she walked back into the room, "Daddy?"

"Yes sweetie?" Ed asked.

"There's a man here for you." She replied and a moment later Ella looked up from her plate to see the dark headed soldier from the market standing behind Alice. His brown eyes turned and rested on her blue ones.

A second later there was a loud clatter as Ed dropped his fork on his plate. Ella's head shot in the direction of the noise and saw her father standing up and her mother looking surprised.

"Roy?" Ed asked.

The soldier shook his head, "No sir. My name is James Mustang, Roy is my father."

Ed's look of confusion changed into a smirk, "So you're Mustang and Hawkeye's kid I take it?"

"I am. I came to talk to you. It's urgent." James Mustang replied.

"Urgent? What could be so urgent that you had to come all the way out here and Mustang couldn't?" Winry asked.

James Mustang looked down at his boots, "Because he couldn't and neither could my mother. They were kidnapped."


	2. Gone

"Kidnapped?!" Ed yelled his eyes growing wide.

"Yes. Nearly 2 weeks ago now." James replied.

Ed's face drained of color and he nodded, "Alice, Arthur…why don't you two take your plates and eat out on the porch? It's a nice night."

"But Dad-" Arthur started but Winry interrupted.

"You heard your father."

Both twins nodded and headed outside with their food.

"What about us?" Will asked looking at Ed.

"I have a feeing you both should stay. Please have a seat James." Ed said.

"Would you like something to eat? We have plenty." Winry said.

James shook his head, "No thank you Mrs. Elric."

Winry nodded and Ed looked to where James sat.

"So what happened?" he asked.

"For the past several months the army has been tracking a rebel group that seems to be on the rise. They plan to overthrow Fuhrer Grumman as far as we can tell and seeing as how Dad was a large supporter and helper of the Fuhrer's when he began rebuilding Amestris, he was the one that they went after. My Mom fought and they took her as well." James replied.

"Why did you come here though? Isn't the Military taking care of this?" Ed asked.

James sighed, "They've upped security around the Fuhrer and they are setting up a team to find and infiltrate the group but they have no leads. I can't sit by and wait. I have to find my father and my mother."

James's voice was shaking as he talked and Ella could see his hands gripping the side of the table, his knuckles white.

"And you just happened to stop here? Or…" Winry asked.

"I came here to ask for help from the Fullmetal Alchemist. Your help." James said looking at Ed.

"James…I'm sorry…I-I can't." Ed said looking at James.

James's face grew suddenly angry and he jumped up, his chair tipping back and skidding across the room with a clatter.

"You can't?! Or you wont?! Do you realize that there isn't another person that can do the things you can? Not another person alive that can I can trust?! What happened to the great Fullmetal Alchemist Ed Elric?! My father told me stories about you! Told me about all the things you accomplished! How can you tell me that you can't help me save my father?!" He spat.

Ella saw her father's face suddenly go stony. Both of his hands clinched at his sides and his eyes grew icy.

"Don't yell at him! When he means he can't he really can't! He can't do alchemy anymore! He gave it up to bring back our Uncle!" Will snapped suddenly.

James froze, "S-So you mean…you mean you really can't?"

"Yeah. If I could help you I would and in a heartbeat. But like Will told you I can't." Ed replied.

James's knees suddenly buckled as if he was trying to sit back down on his chair. However since the chair had been shoved back before he fell on the floor. It didn't even seem to jar him though because his eyes remained blank and hopeless.

"What about my brother Al? He's just as good. We both studied under the same teacher." Ed said.

"Do you think Al can get back here on such short notice?" Winry asked.

"I don't know but I can try." Ed replied.

"I'll go."

The remaining four people whipped around to look at Ella.

"You want to go?" Ed asked looking at his daughter.

"Yes. James said he needs help and he came here to find the Fullmetal Alchemist to help him. Obviously you can't help him Dad but I can. You know that I'm the next best thing to the either you or Uncle Al that he can get. We both know that Uncle Al can't get back here from Xing as fast as he needs to. Two weeks have been wasted. Can we really afford to waste anymore?" Ella asked.

"She has a point Edward." Winry said.

Ed looked at Ella for a moment before shaking his head, "I see your point but you're not going Ella."

"BUT DAD-" Ella started but Ed shook his head.

"Don't argue. Will will go. He's an alchemist too." Ed replied.

"But I'm better!" Ella protested.

"No. I will NOT have my daughter cavorting around with Mustang's son all over the state!" Ed replied.

"Oh so this is about me being a girl and not about who's a better alchemist?!" Ella spat.

"No offence to you James but I knew your father before he married your mother. And then he was a womanizer! I can't imagine the apple falling very far from the tree!" Ed replied.

"This is so stupid! I HATE YOU!" Ella growled and with that ran out of the room.

"Damn him!" Ella raged as she slammed the door of her room.

Still seething she collapsed on her bed, her blond hair fanning our around her. For years on end she had worked on her Alchemy and learned everything she could. She surpassed her brother on every skill that her Father and Uncle had taught them and had since they were kids. How could he tell her that she couldn't go just because she was a girl? It was so unfair.

Out of all of the kids Ella was closest with their Dad. He was the one that encouraged her with her Alchemy and helped her study everything she could on it even if he couldn't do it himself. There had never been a time until now that he had told her no over something like this. She couldn't believe how unreasonable he was.

Eventually in all of her ranging she finally fell asleep. She woke sometime later to Will sitting at the foot of her bed, nudging her foot.

"What do you want?" she grumbled looking at her older brother.

"I came to be a good big brother and check on you." he replied.

"Well I'm fine. Goodnight." Ella replied and turned over.

Will sighed, "Come on El…talk to me."

"I have nothing to say." she said.

"So does that mean that you're not coming to say goodbye in the morning?" he asked.

"So you really are leaving huh?" she replied.

"Yeah…I am. James needs help and I'm going to help him. Dad and Uncle Al taught us that our Alchemy was to be used to help others. This is a way to help." Will replied.

"I'll come say goodbye. What kind of sister would I be if I didn't?" Ella smiled.

"A really shitty one." Will replied smiling back.

Ella brought her foot out and kicked him lightly in the side, "Ass."

Will grinned, "Well I'd better leave you to sleep then. I'll see you in the morning."

Will left and soon Ella fell back to sleep. She didn't wake up again until she felt someone touching her again. This time they were poking her in the side.

Opening her eyes she turned over to see Alice beside her in bed, her golden colored eyes wide.

"Alice? What's going on? And why are you in my bed?" she asked.

"Mama told me that I should sleep in here with you. James has Arthur and I's room. And I heard noises downstairs." Alice replied.

"It's probably Den messing around or something. Go back to sleep." Ella replied but a second later there was a crash from downstairs.

"What was that!?" Alice asked grabbing onto Ella.

"I'm going to go see. You stay here." Ella said and detangled the little girl's grasp from her arm before climbing out of bed.

Tiptoeing across the room Ella opened her door just in time to see her Dad walk past with Will close behind. When Will saw her he pressed a finger to his lips with one hand and a marker with the other hand.

Ella nodded and quickly drew a Transmutation Circle on her palm before following her father and brother. Quietly as possible they all walked down the steps. However the moment they reached the landing five figures cloaked in black lunged at the three Elrics.

Clapping her hands she activated the Transmutation Circle she had drawn on her palms and grabbed onto the banister. Seconds later she held a fully formed baseball bat just as a larger one grabbed for her.

"Bring it on big boy!" She grinned and took a swing at the figure.

There was a 'thunk' as she made contact with his skull. He stumbled but grabbed hold of the bat and managed to pull it from her grip and throw it aside.

A moment later Ella found herself in a hand to hand battle with the figure and he was winning. Hand to hand combat had been part of her Alchemy training but the guy in front of her was gargantuan. There was no way she was match for him. A fact she realized to be all too true as she felt something heavy and hard come down on the top of her head.

Ella collapsed to the floor, her vision blurring in and out. Turning her head she saw her father and brother splayed out next to her unconscious. Five black figures were looming over them but in her altered state Ella couldn't make out their faces or features.

There was a noise to her left and Ella turned her head just in time to see a flash of light and then everything went black.

"Sister! Sister wake up!"

Ella opened her eyes to see Arthur kneeling over her.

"What's going on?" Ella asked sitting up.

"Some bad guys came in here and conked you on your head." he replied.

"Yeah I got that part." she grimaced as she felt a lump on the top of her head.

Looking around she saw Will a few feet away clutching an icepack to the side of his forehead while James was nursing a busted lip. The front door was splintered where it had been kicked in and a half a dozen things were broke around the house either from a struggle or things that had been transmuted.

However there was one thing that she didn't see.

"W-Where's Dad?" she asked looking at her Mom who was surveying the damage.

Winry froze and looked at Ella before taking a shuddering breath, "They took him."

"Who's they and what do you mean that they took him?" Ella asked.

"It was the same group that took my parents. I recognized them because of the amulets they wore around their necks. I don't know if they followed me here or if they were targeting him but they took him." James said looking down at the ground.

Ella felt her body began to shake a moment later as she began to think about the last words that she had said to her father.

"I-I told him that I hated him." she said.

"What did you say sweetheart?" Winry asked.

"The last thing I told Dad was that I hated him. I didn't say anything to him afterwards. I didn't tell him I love him or that I was sorry! I was just so angry!" Ella said tears starting to fall down her face.

"It's not your fault Ella. Dad wasn't mad at you. He was going to come apologize but you were asleep." Will replied.

"I still shouldn't have said those things to him. What if I never get a chance to tell him that I'm sorry?" Ella asked shaking her head.

"You will El. We'll make sure of it." Will replied.

"Don't make promises you can't keep." Ella said.

"If you don't trust us then come with us." James said suddenly.

"What?" Ella asked.

"Come with us. You seemed bound and determined to come before. Are you chickening out now?" James smirked.

"What?! NO WAY! WHAT DO YOU THINK I AM?! A CHICKEN!?" Ella asked glaring at James.

"Depends…are you going or not?" James replied.

"Of course I'm going!" Ella said.

"Then all three you should go and start packing. You'll want to leave at sunset an it's getting light out now." Winry said.

"You're not going to try and stop me like Dad?" Ella asked looking at her Mom.

"No Ella I'm not. I can see that spark in your eyes and I've only seen it one other time and that was in your Father's eyes. I know that even if I forbid you to go you'll go anyhow." Winry said with a small smile.

"Thanks Mom." Ella smiled.

"You're welcome. Now go both of you. I'll make you all breakfast to take with you." Winry said and headed for the kitchen with the twins on her heels.

Ella headed to her room and headed towards her closet. Smiling she pulled out a pair of black shorts she'd had for years before pulling on a tight black tank top. Her feet went into a pair of black leather boots and with a length of leather cord she tied her long blond hair back into a ponytail.

After stuffing a rucksack full of clothes she headed downstairs to find James waiting by the front door, watching the sun rise. He wore a pair of loose pants and a button down shirt, the sleeves rolled up and boots. His hair still hung in his eyes but it fit him.

"What happened to the uniform?" she asked.

"I figured we'd cause less of a ruckus if I was in casual clothes so I borrowed these from your brother. Thank god he doesn't take after your Dad or these pants would be a little on the short side since I heard he was quite the pipsqueak back in the day." James smirked.

"A little bit but he caught up." Ella replied.

Will came down the stairs dressed in a pair of brown slacks and a short sleeved white button down shirt, his long hair pulled into a braid like his sister's. Over his shoulder he carried a bag and a coat.

"What's that?" Ella asked.

"I was thinking and I realized how chilly it was. So I found this in the attic. I thought you'd like it." Will replied and handed her a long red hooded coat with the Flamel mark on the back.

"Is this Dad's?" Ella asked.

"Yeah. It was a little small on me but it looks about your size." he smiled.

"Thanks." Ella smiled and pulled on the coat.

"Since you gave her the coat I guess this will be yours to carry." Winry said and handed a shining silver watch to Will.

"Dad's State Alchemist watch? Wouldn't he blow a gasket if he found out we had this?" Will asked.

"Yeah he used to flip if we touched it at all. He was always afraid we'd like transmute the house to pieces or something." Ella replied.

"Well I think he'd want you to have it. As a good luck charm. And I'm pretty sure that you won't be transmuting any houses on your journey." Winry smiled.

"Thanks Mom." Will smiled.

"You three had better get moving. Take this with you and eat on the way. Keep in touch as much as you can and let me know what's going on. Understand?" she asked.

"We got you Mom." Ella smiled and hugged her Mom.

"We promise we'll stay safe." Will added and hugged her as well.

"It was nice to meet you Mrs. Elric. Thank you for your hospitality and thank you for allowing your children to come with me." James said.

"Please call me Winry. And I have a feeling they both would've gone despite what either Ed or I said. But bring my babies and my husband back to me in one piece Mustang. I mean it." Winry replied.

"I will." James nodded.

After goodbyes to the twins all three set off. As they walked Ella couldn't help but pull the coat tighter around her. It gave her almost a comforting feeling like her Dad's hugs always did. It was the best she could do until they found him.

* * *

**_Hi! _**

**_So i'm really not sure on this story quite yet. What do you guys think? _**

**_Should I keep it?_**

**_Should I get rid of it? _**

**_Should I rent a llama, dress it up as Al while I'm dressed as Ed and claim that the only way I could get my brother back a body was to make it a Chimera? _**

**_(Sorry about the last one...I've been up nearly 24 straight hours watching FMA and FMA panels for no particular reason than I have nothing better to do with my life so I'm a little on the loopy side right now O_o) _**

**_Anyhow so Kill it or keep it? Please let me know! Thank you! _**


	3. Central

"So you're a soldier and you're like what? 17?" Ella asked James as the scenery outside moved along.

The three travelers had boarded a train at the station in Resembool and had soon fallen asleep. After a few hours Ella had woken to find Will snoring loudly on her shoulder and James watching the scenery pass in the mid day sun. They had acknowledged the other but had yet to say a word for the past hour. Eventually Ella grew tired of the quiet and asked a question.

"Yep. I'm a State Alchemist too." he smirked and from his pocket pulled out a silver watch just like the one that Winry had handed Will that morning.

"Really?" I asked looking surprised at the watch.

"What? You didn't know that my Dad was a State Alchemist? He taught me everything I know." James asked.

"No…I knew I guess it just didn't cross my mind that you would be too. What's your title?" she asked.

"I took over my Dad's title a while back. I'm the Flame Alchemist." he said and for emphasis he pulled a small scrap of cloth from his pocket and rubbed it between his fingers, a series of small sparks flying from them.

"What's that?" I asked pointing to the cloth.

"It's called ignition cloth and it helps create the sparks. I have a couple of pairs of gloves made from them that help me with my Alchemy. I'd have one more but I cut them up so I could have something to use if I was in a bind and couldn't put them on. I almost didn't get the chance last night." he replied and pulled another square out and handed it to Ella. She inspected it carefully and saw that he had drawn a small Transmutation circle on it.

"So that light I saw last night was you using your alchemy?" she asked.

He nodded, "Yeah. I try to not use it indoors so much because the last time I did I almost burn half of the house down but last night I didn't really have a choice."

"Thanks for trying at least." Ella replied.

Suddenly Will yawned from beside Ella and both turned to look at him.

"Are we there yet?" he asked rubbing his eyes.

"Not yet. We have about another 45 minutes." James replied.

"Great. I haven't been to Central in ages." Will smiled sitting back.

"Are you sure it's not a bad idea? I mean you're risking a lot aren't you?" Ella asked.

On the way to the station James had decided to confide a few key details that he hadn't mentioned the night before. Things like the fact that he had pretty much deserted the army in order to even come to Resembool and that they were most likely looking for him because he was AWOL.

"I'm sure. I can't just let them have my parents and the only way I'm going to get the info I need is to go to Central." James replied.

Ella nodded and sat back. Soon the train began to slow and they were at the Central train station. James donned a long black over coat and a hat with sunglasses.

"Oh yeah…you don't looks suspicious at all." Will said rolling his eyes.

"Oh hush. He looks fine. There are so many people in Central no one will notice." Ella chided her brother.

"Whatever you say…" Will replied and grabbed his bag.

The three of them headed off the train and made their way onto the platform with James leading the way. They hurried through the people, hoping that they didn't get noticed.

"So where are we going?" Will asked as they slowed outside of the station.

"Gordon's Tavern. It's only a couple of blocks from here." James said and took the lead.

They walked 4 blocks before stopping at a small bar that was squeezed between a florist and a bakery. They walked in and found that it was dark and crowded meaning it would be a perfect place to meet.

"I don't see them here yet. Ella, why don't you go get us some drinks while we find a table?" James suggested and with a nod Ella headed towards the bar.

Ella ordered three sodas for them since legally none of them could drink before finding her brother and James.

"Alright…3 root beers." she smiled as she put the tankards down.

"Well look who it is. The mini Mustang and…Ed's kids?"

Ella turned and saw two men standing behind them in military uniforms. Instinctively Ella and Will's hands went out to grab something to transmute. James was the one of the 3 that had the most information on where their parents might be. Both were prepared to defend him no matter what if it meant getting their dad back.

"Whoa! Hold it!" James said quickly and grabbed onto the Elric's hands.

"Yeah we're not going to hurt you." the one on the left replied. He had blonde hair and a cigarette hanging from his lips.

"We're here to help." the smaller one on the right said. His hair was dark and he had glasses.

Ella nodded and slid into the booth beside her brother.

"I'm guessing you two don't remember us huh?" the blond replied.

"Sorry no." Will said shaking his head.

"Well I'm Major Kain Fuery and Lieutenant Jean Havoc. We served under Mustang Sr. back before all of you were born. Then we even made a visit or two to Resembool after your parents got married. That was when you two were just little though." Havoc replied.

"I've heard Dad mention you guys a couple of times." Ella nodded thinking back to the stories her Dad had told her and Will when they were little. Their names had come up quite a few times.

"Speaking of where is Elric? He really sent his kids instead of coming himself? That seems out of character." Havoc frowned sitting forward.

"Someone broke into our house last night and kidnapped him like they did James's parents." Will said and the other two men's faces grew grim, their mouths turning down in frowns.

"What happened to Alphonse and your mother?" Major Fuery asked.

"Uncle Al is in Xing and our Mom is back in Resembool with the twins." Ella replied.

Lt. Havoc shook his head, "Well at least you two are able to help out."

"So speaking of that did you guys get any information I might be able to use? And where are the others?" he asked.

"Breda and Falman are both assignment for the Fuhrer. However Falman was able to get us some information. It's not a lot but it should be enough to at least get you set in the right direction." Lt. Havoc said and Major Fuery pulled out a sheet of paper which was a map of Amestris with notes scrawled in the margins.

"The group that you described have been spotted in both the South and West, each time not far from the boarder. From that we can gather that they have their base somewhere along the boarder." Major Fuery said pointing to thick line between two territories.

"That means that if you three really mean to go and find these people you're going to have to go on foot. There is no single railway that can take you along that path." Lt. Havoc added.

"Then that's what we'll do." Will nodded.

"Did you get any sort of information on who they are or what they want with our parents?" James asked.

Lt. Havoc shook his head, "No such luck kid. No one has been able to find anything out about this group. Not a single fact."

"What about those amulets?" Will asked.

"Amulets? What amulets?" Lt. Havoc asked.

"The ones that the guys who broke into our house wore. You were the one who noticed them." Ella replied.

"Oh…I uh…I sorta forgot…" James smirked sheepishly.

"YOU FORGOT?!" Ella and Will screamed at the same time.

"HOW COULD YOU FORGET?! WHAT ARE YOU SOME SORT OF MORON?!" Will yelled.

"WE HAVE NO CLUES AT ALL TO WHO THESE PEOPLE ARE AND YOU GO AND FORGET TO MENTION THE ONE DETAIL THAT COULD POSSIBLY SAVE THEM!" Ella chimed in.

"Damn…they are definitely Elric's kids. I don't think I've heard screams like those since the days since Mustang used to poke fun at Ed's size." Major Fuery muttered.

"Agreed." Lt. Havoc nodded and both turned their attention back to where the two Elric's were still screaming at Mustang Jr.

"Look why don't you describe what you can to us about the amulets they wore? We can get some people to look into them that will be discrete about it." Lt. Havoc said.

"You think so?" Ella asked her mood instantly leveling out.

"Yeah. What does it look like?" Major Fuery asked.

"Do you have a pen?" James asked and Lt. Havoc produced one.

James grabbed a napkin and began to draw. He carefully drew a star with eight points before connecting each point with a concave curved line. In the center of the star he drew a spiral. After he drew the spiral he looked that the sketch for a moment before nodding.

"This is it." he said pushing at the two military men.

Lt. Havoc nodded and folded the napkin up, tucking into the pocket of his pants.

"We'd better get going. If you three plan to make it out of Central it's probably best if you don't stay too long in one place. It's getting late though. Do you three have a place to lay low?" he asked.

Will and Ella exchanged glances before turning back, "I think there's a place we can crash." Will smiled.

They bid the soldiers goodbye and thanked them for the small bit of information they had provided before finding a phone booth. Ten minutes later Ella emerged from the found phone booth with a smiled.

"It's no problem." she smiled.

"Great. Let's catch a cab." Will smiled and waved his hand until a car stopped.

"Where are we going? Who did she just call?" James asked as they crawled into the cab.

"Family." Ella replied before tossing her blond braid over her shoulder and leaning forward to give the cabbie the information.

He nodded once and took off. James continued to question the siblings but neither would tell him just where they were headed. Eventually they pulled up to a large house.

"Who lives here?" James asked however he didn't have to wait for a response because a moment later Major Armstrong came running out.

"Children! Welcome to my home!" he cried and a moment later Ella and Will were scooped up into his huge arms.

Ella muttered something that wasn't discernable from where she was being squeezed against Armstrong's chest. However Armstrong must have understood as he let both of them go.

"Thank you." Will gasped.

"James…meet our Uncle Alex." Will said.

"Major Alex Louis Armstrong at your service!" Armstrong smiled.

"Uncle Alex meet James Mustang." Ella replied.

"Your father is Colonel Mustang correct? And your mother is Riza Hawkeye?" Armstrong asked.

"Yes sir." James nodded.

"Well I welcome you to my home. I knew your father and mother well. How are they?" he asked.

"Actually Uncle Alex there is something we should probably tell you." Ella sighed.

Armstrong's face fell as he looked at the looks in the eyes of the 3 teens in front of him, "Come inside. We'll get you settled and you can tell me everything."

Ella, James and Will followed Armstrong into the house and a half hour later they sat in the study explaining everything to Armstrong.

"So I came with them and now we're heading to the border of the West and the North." Ella finished.

"You three are on a very dangerous journey indeed. I would like to offer my assistance in this matter. Your parents are very dear friends to me" Armstrong said.

"You want to go with us?" Will asked.

"If you would allow me then yes I would." Armstrong replied.

"Uncle Alex…don't you have things to do around here? Important things with the Military?" Ella asked.

Armstrong nodded, "I do but I feel this is more so."

"Don't you think the Military would know something was going on though?" James asked.

"What do you mean?" Ella asked.

"It's no secret that my parents and your Dad and Major Armstrong were associated with each other. The military is already on my ass for running off. If you leave too wouldn't that kind of send up some red flags?" James asked looking at Armstrong.

Armstrong was silent for a moment, "Perhaps you're right young Mustang. However I must insist that you keep me in touch and if you three ever are in need of my help you will not hesitate to ask." Armstrong replied.

"We will Uncle Alex. Thank you." Ella smiled.

"Anything for my darling niece and nephew." he replied.

Soon the maid came in and announced it was time for Dinner. Armstrong and his parents were the only ones that were home at the time, the other various siblings of the family having spread out on various missions or, in Catherin's case, visiting a friend.

The conversation was boisterous as always and filled with tales that had been passed down the Armstrong line for decades. For a while the three teens forgot about the fact their parents were missing and that come morning they would set out on a partly blind mission to try and find them. They forgot the dangers that waited for them outside the doors of the Armstrong Mansion and the fact that it was possible they may not possess the strength to tackle them and win. No for one night they were normal again.

However once they bid their hosts goodnight the thoughts came back ten fold. It was almost as if they were angry at the fact that they had been forgotten for even an instant and had decided to return with ferocity.

James had tossed and turned for a couple of hours before climbing out of bed, leaving Will to snore on the other side of the bed they shared for the night. Silently he opened the door to the balcony expecting to be alone but was instead pleasantly surprised.

It turned out that the balcony connected both the boys room as well as Ella's. She stood at the other end staring up at the faded stars that hung overhead. Her white blond hair fell around her shoulders, loose from the braid she'd tied in before they'd left Resembool and she wore a white night dress. It had fluttery sleeves and stopped just above her knees.

Ella was the reflection of her mother Winry. Growing up there had been a few photo albums that were filled with photos of his parent's friends. Most of them had been filled with photos of Maes Hughes and his family, Falman, Havoc, Breda and Fuery along with his parents. However sometimes a blond boy and a tall suit of armor had appeared in the photos and further on a blond girl with big blue eyes had joined them.

He'd learned that they were Edward Elric, his younger brother Alphonse and Edward's friend/girlfriend/wife Winry Rockbell. When he'd gone to Resembool in search of the Fullmetal Alchemist he had been shocked to see the familiar face of Winry Rockbell and the fact she seemed so young. However he soon found that it was not Winry but her daughter Ella Elric. He couldn't help but smile at the alliteration of the name.

He must have laughed a bit because suddenly Ella's head whipped around, her blond locks glittering in the light of the full moon.

"Sorry…it's just me." James said holding his hands up.

"You surprised me." she smiled back.

"Sorry." he apologized again and walked over to stand by the girl.

"So you couldn't sleep either?" she asked leaning on the rail again.

He shook his head, "No. My mind wouldn't turn off."

She nodded, "Me neither."

Both lapsed into a comfortable silence for a few moments before James came up with another question.

"So Armstrong…is he really your Uncle?" he asked.  
Ella laughed, "No. Uncle Alex is in no way related to either Will or I. He's always insisted on us calling him Uncle Alex when we were kids. Dad always protests that he's not our actual uncle like Uncle Al but it just kinda stuck. He's always treated us like family."

James nodded, "Reminds me of my Aunt Gracia and her daughter Elicia."

"You know Gracia and Elicia too?" Ella asked.

"Yeah. Her husband Maes was really good friends with my Dad back in the day. Dad always kept in touch and made sure that they were doing alright. She makes amazing pies." James smiled.

"Agreed. Her Apple is her best. We have it whenever we come visit. Elicia calls my mom Sister." Ella replied.

James nodded, "I've heard them mention you guys a few times. Usually just in passing conversation between Dad and Gracia." James replied.

"Same. I should've recognized you when I saw you. You look just like your Dad." Ella said.

"I recognized you when I saw you. My parents aren't ones for mementos and such but they had a stack of albums full of photos and there were a couple of your parents. You look just like your mom. I was trying to figure out just how she looked so young after all the years since she and your Dad got married. I thought I'd lost it for a moment." he laughed.

"You're insane. Maybe those flames of yours have baked your brain." Ella smirked.

James smiled and shrugged, "Maybe. However we'd better get some sleep. We have to leave early. I'll see you in the morning."

And with a wave he headed back to his room where Will still lay snoring, oblivious that dark haired teen had even left the room. Crawling into bed he sighed and closed his eyes. Within minutes he was asleep.

* * *

_**Hi! So I'm sorry this took a couple of days but I've been watching at lot of FMA: Brotherhood and The Wallflower lately so i've been a tad distracted lol. **_

_**I also found out that my parents got my younger brother and I tickets to Anime Weekend Atlanta for next year! I'm so excited! I've been wanting to go to a convention forever and it turns out that all of the talk about it finally paid off :D**_

_**Anyhow I also wanted to say thank you to: **_

_**-Lexus Manna**_

_**-Neusuada**_

_**-Hopeless Alchemist **_

_**and**_

_**-Fullmetalkid2**_

**_For all of the amazing reviews! I'm glad that you liked it!_**

**_Also thank you to all of the people who followed and favorited as well! Thank you and thanks for reading!_**


	4. A Captive And His Dreams

"What the hell are you doing with me?! Let me out of here you assholes!" Ed yelled at the top of his lungs as the cart rolled across the rough made road, tossing the former alchemist back and forth against it's walls.

Ed wasn't sure just how long he'd been in the back of the cart but he knew that it had been long enough. Hours before he'd heard noises from the bottom of his house and with Will and Ella trailing him he'd investigated. However everything had soon turned bad when they had bludgeoned him over the head with a vase.

He'd woken up tied up and gagged inside of a darkened private car on a train. He wasn't sure how he'd gotten onto the train without anyone seeing but he had and after a few hours on the train they had somehow snuck him off again without anyone seeing and stuck him in the cart.

"LET ME OUT!" Ed yelled one last time and a second later the cart jerked to an abrupt stop.

Ed tumbled forward and a moment later the door at the back of the cart swung open. The same three masked men that had broke into his house, knocked him unconscious and tossed him in the cart were now staring at him.

"It's about time you lump headed morons! Let me the hell out of here!" he spat.

With a grunt one of them grabbed him by his wrists which were bound with a board and rope contraption making the already painful stinging worse. For split second Ed nearly missed his old Automail wrist and the fact that if he still had it only one wrist would hurt instead of both. However that thought was quickly shoved away as the three of them pulled him from the back and lifted him up.

Ed tried his best to try to shake himself from their grasp but failed. The restraints around his wrists and ankles were too tight to move properly or put up any sort of actual fight.

They carried him through what looked like a makeshift village. Sparse and splintered homes dotted the road that they walked down, curls of smoke rising from small chimneys. The air was colder than back in Resembool and thanks to the fact he had been pulled from his house so abruptly he wore little more than a pair of loose linen pants and a sleeveless shirt with slippers. Being tossed about in the cart while screaming at his captors had proved to be a good source of warmth but now that he was forced still the cold was slowly seeping into his flesh and bones.

After a few moments of walking through the small village they approached a small square building that was actually well made compared to the other ones. It was made of bricks and looked sufficiently sturdy.

Still silent one of the ones in the front opened the door before the other two roughly threw him through the door. There was a heavy clink sound a few moments later as the door slammed shut with the sound of a locking sliding into place behind it.

"You can't keep me in here! If it's the last thing I do I'm going to break out of this godforsaken hell hole and hand you your asses on a silver platter!" he screamed as they walked away.

"If you're not careful one day you're going to give yourself an aneurysm from all that screaming Fullmetal."

Ed maneuvered his body around so that he could see who had spoken even though he already knew. He'd heard that sarcastic tone more than once in his life. There was no way that he could've mistook it for anyone else.

"Are you going to sit around all day or are you going to help me get these damn ropes off Mustang?" Ed said, his tone equally sarcastic as Mustang's had been.

There was a light chuckle and a moment later he felt hands at his ankles.

"Thanks Hawkeye." Ed replied knowing the small hands couldn't have belonged to Mustang.

Soon Ed was untied and he was able to sit up, rubbing the sore spots on his wrists and flesh ankle.

"You're quite welcome." she responded.

"Here…you'll want this. It'll keep you warm." Mustang said and a moment later a thick blanket and coat were shoved into Ed's hands.

"Thanks." Ed replied and pulled on the coat before wrapping himself in the blanket.

There were small windows around the square structure that allowed enough moonlight into the space so he could see Mustang and Hawkeye. It had been several years since he had last seen the pair.

Both Winry and Riza had been round with what would eventually be Will and apparently James at the time. The four of them had been in Central for Elicia's 7th birthday and Mustang had made some sort of remark about Edward's height and ability to impregnate his wife and how they correlate. There had been a minor argument between the two that had only come to a stop when Riza had brandished a gun at them.

Now here they sat trapped in a small box in god knows where, the years that had passed subtly evident on all their faces.

Roy's hair was still as dark as ever but was now streaked with gray along the temples and his face was lined along the mouth. Riza's eyes were lightly lined in the outer corners but her hair was still the same dark gold as it always had been. As for Ed he knew that the lines were slowly starting to show in his face but thanks to the fact both of his fellow prisoners they weren't nearly as prominent.

"So I guess they got you too huh?" Mustang sighed after a few moments.

"At least they didn't get the kids or Winry. I guess I'm just one more person that Will and James are going to be looking for." Ed replied.

Riza and Roy's heads shot up, "James? You mean our James?" Riza asked.

"Yeah he showed up at my door the night those thugs grabbed me. He wanted my help to find you two. I can't do alchemy anymore so I told him that my son Will would go. He's gotten pretty good at it. My daughter Ella too. The twins don't want anything to do with it though. They hate the studying." Ed smirked.

"There shouldn't be any doubt that your children would be proficient in Alchemy. You yourself were quite the alchemist back in the day." Roy replied.

Ed looked at Roy and cocked an eyebrow, "Was that a compliment from the almighty Flame Alchemist?"

Roy smirked, "Don't get used to it."

"So James is trying to find us?" Riza asked.

Ed nodded, "That's what he said. He's probably already set off with Will and Ella probably came along too. She's so stubborn sometimes."

"I wonder who she gets that from." Riza replied, a small smiled playing at the corners of her lips.

Ed couldn't help but smile and look around their prison.

"So where are we anyway?" he asked.

"Judging by the weather we're somewhere close to the North and near the Briggs Mountain range. However by the look of the land we're near the west too so I'd guess we're near the boarder." Roy said.

"So we're pretty far from Resembool then. I hope they can find us." Ed replied standing up to look through the window.

He watched as a soft snow began to fall from the sky and a cold breeze blew through the bars. Shivering Ed sat back down on the floor so he was out of the line of the air.

"You both have been here for a few weeks now…why haven't you tried to escape?" Ed asked.

"I would but my Alchemy doesn't work. At least not here." Roy sighed.

"What? Because of the snow?" Ed asked.

"Actually we've come to the conclusion that it's because of that." Riza replied and pointed up at the ceiling.

It was made of stone like the rest of the room but at the top Ed could see a design carved into the stone. Squinting in the dim light he was able to make out that it was the same one that their captors had worn on the pendants around their necks.

"What is it?' Ed asked.

"No clue. It looks like some form of an array but not one that I'm familiar with. I was hoping that you would know. It seems to cancel out my Alchemy." Roy replied.

Ed shook his head, "Nope. Never seen it in my life."

There was a rustling at the door and a second later a tray was shoved through a small metal door.

"Eat." A gruff voice said.

Ed was wary about eating the food but Roy and Riza weren't. Each grabbed a bowl of what looked like some sort of thin soup and began to eat it.

"I'd advise you to eat it Fullmetal. It will warm you up." Roy said.

"Are you sure it's safe?" Ed asked picking the soup up.

"We've been eating it for the past 2 weeks and it doesn't seem to have had any ill effects on us." Riza replied.

Ed sniffed the soup before bringing the warm liquid to his lips. It tasted okay and in no time it was gone. He hadn't realized just how hungry he was until the bowl was empty.

After the last drop had disappeared down his throat he sat the bowl on the tray again and pulled the blanket more around his shoulders. A moment later he looked over and saw that both Roy and Riza had fallen asleep. Roy leaned against the wall with Riza between his legs, her head resting in the crook of his neck.

Ed couldn't help but smile as he looked at them but his chest ached. He missed Winry. He missed the kids. With the thoughts of the kids he began to worry about Will and Ella. There was no doubt in his mind that since he wasn't there that his oldest daughter hadn't tagged along behind her brother.

Both of his older kids were stubborn as hell, a trait that both him and Winry had shared and passed down to their children. Alice and Arthur were more easy going than either of them and reminded him sometimes of Al. Once he had even jokingly asked Winry if it was a possibility that he was their father but the next thing he knew his forehead had met with the business end of her wrench. He had woken up five hours later and he had never said anything to her about it again, joking or otherwise.

A smile crossed his face as he pulled the blanket even tighter around him. Slowly his eyes began to slip closed. The entire journey from Resembool to here he could hardly remember sleeping. Now it was catching up to him and before he knew it he had dozed off.

_"Daddy! Look!"_

_Ed turned and saw Will and Ella kneeling on the floor beside Al. In-between the three of them was a transmutation circle with a simple array._

_"That's pretty good." he smiled._

_"I drew it Daddy! Uncle Al said it was perfect!" 6 year old Ella beamed up at him, waving the chalk in her hand._

_Ed smiled and kneeled down to join his brother and his children._

_"So are you two ready to try transmuting something?" Al asked._

_"Yeah! I get to go first!" Will said._

_"Why do you get to go first?! I drew the circle!" Ella protested._

_"Because I'm the oldest stupid head!" Will replied._

_"Don't call me stupid head!" Ella growled._

_"Whoa…both of you calm down. Will, Ella drew the circle so she gets to go first." Ed said._

_"Fine." Will said and sat back, his arms crossed over his chest in a pout._

_Ella smiled and leaned forward pressing her hands against the circle, an empty soda can sitting in the center. A faint blue light began to glow and a second later when it died away a rough and childish metal dog sat in the center._

_"I did it!" Ella grinned and Ed picked up the dog._

_"This is amazing sweetheart." he smiled and handed it to Ella and kissed her head._

_"My turn!" Will said and grabbed the spare soda can that sat near them and set it in the center._

_He followed his sister's motions and a moment later a cow sat in the center, just as rough and childish as Ella's and perhaps a little more so. The seams weren't so clean and two of the legs were shorter than the other._

_"It's not as good as Ella's." He frowned looking at the lopsided cow._

_"You'll get better with practice. That's how you Dad and I learned." Al assured his nephew._

_That didn't seem to placate the 7 year old though. He still frowned down at the metal cow._

_"What's going on?" Winry asked walking out of the Kitchen where she had just finished washing the dinner dishes._

_Ed stood up, "Will doesn't think he's as good at Alchemy as Ella."_

_"Well maybe he's not." Winry said._

_"What?" Will asked looking up at his mother, his eyes glossing with tears._

_"Yeah what?" Ed asked looking to his wife, unable to comprehend what she had just said to their son._

_Winry realized the way that her son had taken it she knelt down so she was eye level with her son._

_"What I mean sweetheart is that everyone is good at different things. Like who is the one that helps me with all my Automail repairs?" Winry asked._

_"M-Me." Will replied._

_"Exactly. You know all the tools I need and what screws and types of wires I use for what things. Ella doesn't know all of those things. Where you're better with Automail she's better at Alchemy." Winry explained._

_Will bit his lip and looked down at the cow in his hands as he thought. After a few moments his head shot up and he grinned at his mother._

_"Okay!"_

_Winry smiled and ruffled his hair, "That's my boy. Now both of you should head upstairs and start getting ready for bed."_

_"Aw! We want to stay and play with Uncle Al!" Ella groaned._

_"Yeah! We were just starting to have fun!" Will frowned._

_"Now now…you two should listen to your mother. It is very late and both of you need your sleep. I'll still be here tomorrow." Al smiled._

_"Fine but only if Daddy tells us a story!" Ella said._

_"What do you think Ed?' Winry asked._

_"I suppose I could. But only if the two of you get ready for bed without arguing." Ed replied._

_"Okay!" both of them replied and hurried upstairs._

_An hour later Ed tucked the covers over both Will and Ella who were already asleep. Smiling he walked out of the room only to find Al waiting in the hall._

_"What story did you tell them?" Al asked._

_"The one about Ling and I inside of Gluttony." Ed replied._

_"Don't you think might give them nightmares?" Al asked._

_Ed shook his head, "Nah…they've heard that story before. They love it where we eat my shoe."_

_Al smiled, "They remind me of you and Winry when we were kids."_

_"Yeah. It drives Winry crazy when Ella gets stubborn like me but the other day she got mad at Will and hurled a wrench at him. Can you believe that? A freaking WRENCH! I don't even know where she got it! Thank god she doesn't have Winry's aim and missed or I think Will would've had his head knocked in." Ed smirked._

_"And Will likes Automail like Winry. He was talking about the model he was designing for Den when I arrived the other day. He had that same crazy sparkle to his eyes like she did. I didn't understand half of what he was talking about though. Of course then there's the fact he's about two inches shorter than other kids his age. Kinda like someone else I know eh brother?" Al smirked._

_Ed scowled at his brother, "Yeah well I caught up and so will he."_

_Al laughed and patted his brother's shoulder, "C'mon I think Winry is heating up one of her Apple pies."_

_Ed smiled and the two brothers headed towards the kitchen._

* * *

_**Hi! So I wrote this because I thought i'd let you all know what was up with Ed. I kinda wanted to give some insight into where he was and what he was seeing.**_

_**I'm sorry it's been a few days since I updated. I try to update as frequently as I can but for the last few days i've had a pretty nasty cold. So that meant that I was stuck in bed watching Fullmetal Alchemist and The Wallflower. **_

_**A belated Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates it and if you don't Happy Holidays! I think I got the best present i've gotten in a while this year because my brother got me a Fullmetal Alchemist Messenger Bag with Al, Ed, Mustang and Hawkeye on the front! He said he made sure to find one with Mustang on it since Mustang is my favorite character :D**_

_**Anyhow I want to say thank you to the commenters:**_

_**-Neusuada **_

_**and **_

_**-Fullmetalkid2**_

_**you guys rock!**_

_**And to everyone else, thanks for reading!**_


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